LOOK OUT FOR TALENT: Connecting Cottbus 2010 focuses on European co-productions

The Georgian project FLIGHT TBILISI-TBILISI by director Vano Burduli and the producer Tinatin Kajrishvili proved to be the best pitch at this year’s East-West Co-Production Market Connecting Cottbus (CoCo) from 4-5 November 2010 and was presented with the € 3,000 CoCo Best Pitch Award 2010. more

This year will see the artistic director Gabriele Brunnenmeyer ending her successful work for the East-West Co-production Market Connecting Cottbus which is being held for the 12th time during the FilmFestival Cottbus. After more than a decade, she will now be devoting herself to other projects. The organiser is very grateful for the outstanding work in the past years and wishes her continued success for the new projects. read more

Out of almost 90 applications 15 new feature film projects from 12 countries were chosen for the pitching session on November 4th during the East West Co- production Market Connecting Cottbus. The opening pitch was be presented by the winner of the 2009 CoCo Special Pitch Award, the Serbian director Vladimir Perisic whom introduced his next project after the award winning feature film debut ORDINARY PEOPLE. The CoCo Selection 2010 you can find here:  CoCo Selection 2010

The East-West Co-production Market Connecting Cottbus took place for the 12th time from the 4 - 5 November, 2010. You can find the final draft of the programme structures, topics, guests and events below.

1st day

09:00 - 10:00

Accreditation

10:00 - 10:15

Welcome

10:15 - 12:00

Moving to Europe: How films from Eastern Europe try to find their place in the market

Moderation: Martin J. Blaney (Screen International)
Guests: Darko Baseski (Macedonian Film Fund), Alexander Donev (NFC Bulgaria), Kirsten Niehuus (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg), Manfred Schmidt (MDM), Alexandra Strelkova (Slovak Film Institute), Tamara Tatishvili (Georgian National Film Centre)

12:00 - 12:15

The Co-Production Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung

Guest: Karin Angela Schyle (Co-Production Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung)

12:15 - 13:30

Networking Lunch - hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung

13:30 - 14:45

Come & Pitch it! Part I

14:45 - 15:15

Coffee Break - hosted by Kids Regio

15:15 - 16:30

Come & Pitch it! Part II

16:30 - 17:00

Coffee Break - hosted by the Nipkow Programm

17:00 - 18:00

Come & Pitch it! Part III

18:00 - 19:00

Voting for the CoCo Best Pitch Award 2010 / Make your dates for the One2Ones

20:00 - 23:00

Time to talk!
Networking Reception - hosted by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the MDM including the Announcement of the CoCo Best Pitch Award 2010

2nd day

09:00 – 11:00

One2Ones Part I

11:00 – 12:30

Coming from Eastern Europe: How the development, production and distribution of a project is influenced by its origins

Moderation: Martin J. Blaney (Screen International)
Guests: Marc Baschet (A.S.A.P. Films), Ellis Driessen (Fortissimo), Srdan Golubovic (Filmhouse Bas Celik), Sonja Heinen (Berlinale Co-Production Market, World Cinema Fund)), Dariusz Jablonski (Apple Film, ScripTeast), Meinolf Zurhorst (ZDF-Arte)

12:40 – 14:00

One2Ones Part II

14:00 – 15:30

Networking Lunch

15:30 – 16:30

Focus CoCo:Presentation of projects initiated by Connecting Cottbus
Moderation: Martin J. Blaney (Screen International)

16:40 - 18:00

One2Ones Part III

08.00 pm

in co-operation with the FilmFestival Cottbus 1st Treffpunkt Branche at Kunstmuseum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus

he FilmFestival Cottbus hosted jointly with the East-West Co-production Market Connecting Cottbus and its main sponsor Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH an East European Brunch, which was attended by some 120 industry and media representatives. The annual reception was held at Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech town of Karlovy Vary. Among the guests was the film crew of THE WOMAN WITH A BROKEN NOSE. Producer Alexander Ris (Neue Mediopolis) came with the film's director Srđjan Koljevic. Koljevic praised the Cottbus Festival, where he kicked of his international career, describing it as "... an important window to the East European film industry".

The Festival did also welcome filmmaker Johannes Naber, who presents his new film THE ALBANIAN in the section East of the West of the current 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. He brought one of his main actors, Ivan Shvedoff, and his German producer Boris Schönfelder (Neue Schönhauser Filmproduktion) to the event. Even the screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák (EMPTIES) came to the Grandhotel Pupp in order to meet the FilmFestival Cottbus director Ronald Rust, the managing director of Medienboard Kirsten Niehuus as well as Gabriele Brunnenmeyer, artistic director of Connecting Cottbus. Even Eva Zaoralová, the artistic director of the Karlovy Vary festival, insisted on stoping by at the reception. Among the German guests were the manager of Arsenal film distribution, Stefan Paul, and his counterpart at Neue Visionen, Thorsten Frehse.

The FilmFestival Cottbus together with Connecting Cottbus invited on the occasion of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival to partake in a brunch on the 17th February 2010 in Berlin. The co-production market gave the Connecting Cottbus Special Pitch Award to young director Vladimir Perisic from Serbia. Persisic´s disturbing war drama ORDINARY PEOPLE won among others the Main Prize for Best Film in the FilmFestival Cottbus 2009. The Special Pitch Award enables Perisic to pitch his newest project at the upcoming Connecting Cottbus.

On the occasion of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, FilmFestival Cottbus together with Connecting Cottbus invited to visit the Cottbus Lounge in the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin. Guest had the opportunity to meet the teams of FilmFestival Cottbus and Connecting Cottbus and got a glimpse of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the festival. Performance artist Theo Ligthart presented his high-proof creation “das korn”.